InterDigital escalates UPC campaign against Disney over VP9 workaround

InterDigital has filed a preliminary injunction application against Disney at the Mannheim local division of the Unified Patent Court (case ID: UPC_CFI_3044/2026). The dispute concerns  EP 2 465 265, the same patent the Mannheim panel under presiding judge Peter Tochtermann had already found valid and infringed in a decision handed down in June 2026.

The new action targets Disney’s use of VP9, an encoding format developed in the early 2010s to which the streaming provider switched after previous UPC rulings covering the HEVC standard. According to InterDigital, VP9 also relies on technology developed by its engineers and therefore falls within the scope of EP 265. According to the US technology research and development company, Disney has been using VP9 to restore 4K UHD support on Disney+ Premium in Germany, although the format does not enable HDR playback and is not supported on all devices.

In parallel, InterDigital has filed a further main action at the Düsseldorf local division based on EP 2 605 473 (case ID: UPC_CFI_3043/2026). This patent covers the so-called “Up-Next” function, which automatically offers the next episode of a series without the viewer having to return to the main menu. The Düsseldorf action extends to Germany, France and the Netherlands.

Background to the dispute

The new filings are part of a broader global campaign InterDigital launched against Disney in February 2025. The US technology company has since obtained seven injunctions across Brazil, Germany and the UPC, all covering different aspects of video coding and streaming technology used in Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu.

Munich Regional Court issued three separate injunctions in the case, covering patents on subtitle overlay, HDR technology and HEVC encoding methods. At the UPC, the Mannheim local division ruled in June 2026 that Disney had infringed EP 265 covering intra chroma coding (case ID: UPC_CFI_86/2025). In July, the Düsseldorf local division followed with an injunction covering EP 2 449 782 spanning eleven European countries (case ID: UPC_CFI_87/2025).

In both UPC rulings, the panels rejected Disney’s FRAND defence and classified the streaming provider as an unwilling licensee.

Consequences for consumers

Following the earlier rulings, Disney removed several premium features from its offering in Germany. Earlier in 2026, the streaming provider withdrew Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and 3D content, and later deactivated 4K UHD and HDR support on Disney+ in Germany. The company therefore granted premium subscribers in Germany a right to early termination at the beginning of this month.

In a statement, InterDigital’s Chief Legal Officer Josh Schmidt reiterated the company’s position, saying: “Let’s reach a long-term agreement that reflects the fair value of the innovation Disney uses every day.” Other streaming providers, including Amazon Prime, have concluded licence agreements with InterDigital covering HDR technology.

Arnold Ruess again for InterDigital

InterDigital is again relying on Arnold Ruess for the new proceedings. Partners Cordula Schumacher and Arno Riße have led the client’s disputes against Disney at the UPC and the Munich Regional Court, supported by counsel Lisa Rieth. The latter plays a prominent role in the new case. Arnold Ruess is a long term advisor of InterDigital and filed the initial claims against Disney at the UPC and the Regional Court Munich.

As in the previous cases, the Düsseldorf law firm is working with Munich-based patent attorney df-mp, with dual-qualified Dominik Ho and patent attorney David Molnia. Both partners are highly prominent in mobile communication and video streaming cases, including for InterDigital vs Amazon and for Huawei vs Disney.

Disney’s counsel are not yet known. It is highly likely the company will retain Pentarc, as the Munich IP boutique represented Disney in the previous cases at the UPC and the Munich Regional Court. Lead partners Dietrich Kamlah and Christian Lederer initiated the Disney litigation while still at Taylor Wessing before setting up Pentarc in October 2024. The firm has also taken over the appeal against the decision of the Mannheim local division concerning EP 265.

On the patent attorney side Disney worked with a team around Joel Nägerl from Zimmermann & Partner for the previous cases. However, these are by no means the only firms Disney retains in Europe. In Germany, for example, the company has hired Rospatt for patent cases and recently the German team from Powell Gilbert. (Co-author: Laura King)